I'm Sorry
by Anon Life
Summary: Marinette knew it was a long shot. He was a model, the only son of Paris' most famous fashion designer, and a very sweet boy. She was just the girl that couldn't speak a complete sentence to him without breaking out into a babbling mess. Coming of Age.
1. Chapter 1

Marinette sighed deeply, a glass of wine dangling from her fingertips.

The sun was setting in the horizon, the colors blurring together into the night sky. In the distance, the girl could see the Cathédrale Notre-Dame across the Seine. Soon the facade would light up and shine as the sky darkened.

Taking a dainty sip from her glass, the young woman couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of her home and allow the majesty of Paris evoke the emotions in her heart. A city devoted to love.

It made her feel slightly better that she was rejected.

The dark haired girl refilled her glass, smiling a bit at the bottle and silently thanking her parents. The moment she stepped through the door, they could tell something was wrong. That the light in her eyes was just a little bit forced.

Maman reassuringly stroked her cheek and gave her a hug. Papa ruffled her hair and opened a nicer bottle of wine for dinner. They trusted her to be responsible with the rest.

It touched her to know that they loved her so dearly and she appreciated their trust in her to be a bit more like an adult. Marinette didn't feel like a little girl anymore.

When she found out her class would spend a day working at Le Grand Paris, Marinette knew it was going to be exasperating. Chloé had long ago ruined anything positive about her father's hotel.

True to form, the spoiled child made sure to manipulate the assignments, laughing haughtily when her father announced Marinette's job for the day, Concierge Runner. No doubt, visions of slaving at the beck and call of some V.I.P. had danced through the blonde's mind. Or to rub salt in the wound, perhaps the vile girl had planned to co-opt Marinette as her own personal servant.

Luckily, Jagged Stone, her absolute favorite musician, decided to take that moment to come and book the largest suite the hotel had to offer. She got to be specially assigned to one of her idols and was sent on a journey to find a pair of Eiffel Tower sunglasses befitting a rock god.

Unfortunately, her usual luck decided to kick in and her search was for naught. The gaudy and ostentatious style he desired did not exist in any of the souvenir shops surrounding the Tower.

Marinette almost gave up hope, but a little encouragement from Tikki, her Kwami partner, reminded her that she was not without her own talents. The aspiring designer whipped into a frenzy to make the glasses herself. She even had just enough time to finish the inadvertent commission while defeating a disgruntled Akuma whose target just so happened to be the rock star himself.

As the day finally started to draw to an end and with her missions accomplished, Jagged nearly gave her a heart attack when he accepted his custom sunglasses with accolades. In true rock star fashion, he declared that he loved them, posted a selfie with her on Instagram, and gushed over her 'true talent'. As a token of his appreciation, the rock star and his assistant presented her two tickets to his concert for the night. She had been so excited and hopeful that her rollercoaster of a day would end on a high note.

Marinette sighed and took another sip of her drink. But that was where everything went downhill. She got greedy.

It took all of the part-time superhero's willpower to muster up the courage. Every fiber of her being screamed to run away or just take her best friend, Alya. But she knew what she wanted more than anything in the world. She walked up to her crush, Adrien Agreste, and asked him out on a date to the concert.

Marinette knew it was a long shot. He was a model, the only son of Paris' most famous fashion designer, and a very sweet boy. She was just the girl that could hardly speak a complete sentence to him without breaking out into a babbling mess. Nevertheless, she was riding high on the excitement of getting the Jagged Stone's approval, not to mention the exposure from getting her picture and a custom design broadcast to all of his followers.

All it took was two words to bring her joy and excitement to a screeching halt.

"I'm sorry."

Two words. That's all he needed to shatter her heart. To make her feel like her world was over. The one thing she dreaded beyond anything else had come true and the hurt made her want to crawl into a hole and die.

To the model's credit, he was gracious when he broke her heart. He gave a heartfelt speech about not wanting to string her along when he had feelings for someone else. He wanted to still be friends. With his emerald eyes staring into her soul, she wanted him even more. But he didn't want her.

Marinette knew she was probably being a little impolite when she didn't say anything in return.

Her thoughts were too jumbled. Her feelings too raw. Rejection hurt, plain and simple. So... she just walked away.

Woodenly, she smiled at Alya who had waited in hope and solidarity. The consoling look on her best friend's face and the comforting hug made Marinette feel again.

Alya was torn when she gave her the concert tickets, obviously feeling like a bad friend if she dared to accept the precious gift. The dark haired girl sternly admonished that they would go to waste otherwise. To enjoy a date with Nino as an early birthday present.

Bless her heart, the esteemed blogger tried desperately to change her mind. Begged her to at least go to the concert together since she had earned the tickets. Marinette had to go so far as threaten to throw them into a storm drain before Alya reluctantly snatched them away, declaring her the sweetest, kindest, and most wonderful friend that was too good for a spoiled pretty boy anyways.

Now here she was. Reminiscing alone on her rooftop about a day that wasn't even over yet. Or maybe it was just moping. At the very least, she wasn't feeling quite as terrible as she did before, the hurt beginning to dull. Wondering what could have been.

What if she had four tickets to share instead of two? What if she had just listened to her own insecurities and run away like she did every other day?

Marinette gave a bitter laugh as she emptied the last of her wine into her glass.

Living in a land of make believe. Grasping for the barest hints of affection. Maybe it was for the better that she ripped this bandage off.

How long could she have stared at Adrien from afar before it destroyed her? How long would she have agonized over ways to make him notice her? How far would she have gone?

"No," Marinette muttered, shaking her head. There was no maybe. This was better. She was Ladybug. A superhero. Defender of Paris. Obsessing over a boy that didn't share her feelings was not for her.

Yet thinking about her alter ego and unrequited thoughts made her wonder about another blonde male that played a prominent role in her life, Chat Noir.

Her petit minou. Partner in crime. The other half of her team… The only boy that flirted with her on a regular basis.

Swirling her glass, the young woman watched the dark liquid ripple. She had to admit, she enjoyed their back and forth. The way he so casually could belt out a pick up line or compliment her while they battled to save the city from the Akuma of the day.

He kept her spirits up. Made her laugh, feel special. Even if he wasn't serious, she appreciated the thought. The possibility that someone out there might find her attractive, might love her and wish to spend the rest of their life with her. To make her feel wanted, desired, and let her be strong, free. Loved.

But a wave of longing shuddered through her body. A sudden wave of loneliness that ached from her heart. An image flashed in her mind. Raindrops. An umbrella. Her first crush. The images slipped away into the night.

"Adrien, I wish I could have been the one for you," she murmured, draining the rest of her glass. A couple tears rolled down her cheek. "C'est la vie, mon amour… Adieu..."

There was no sense in worrying Tikki any more. Her heart ached, but she was okay. And she would recover. She was Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the Miraculous Ladybug.

Carefully, the dark haired woman grabbed the empty bottle and glass and dropped down through the skylight to her room.

In the distance, a shadowed figure whispered to the night, "I'm sorry."


	2. Chapter 2

Marinette sighed as she sipped a cup of coffee. The warm drink heated her up nicely in the chilly springtime air. A large umbrella shaded the young woman from the late morning sun. Her phone rested on the table, a reassuring message about 'fish in the sea' from Alya on the screen.

"I love Paris, Tikki," the dark haired girl whispered, carefully stroking her little friend's head.

The red Kwami gave a sweet smile to her charge, "I'm just happy you're feeling a bit better, Marinette."

"I had help," the young woman replied, giving a conspiratory wink at Tikki who flew up to give a surreptitious hug. Her tiny confidante always warmed her heart and made her feel lucky that being Ladybug gave her such a wonderful friend.

"Hehe. I think someone enjoyed her retail therapy," the Kwami giggled opening her arms out widely, "The boutiques were so surprised to have you racing around so early in the morning."

"Of course the shopping was nice too," the dark haired girl acknowledged, a light laugh bubbling. Resting by her feet were a number of bags filled to the brim with clothes and fabric.

She hadn't meant to go so overboard, but her 'Adrien Fund' was a lot bigger than she remembered. Tacky perfume magazines and special luxury yarn for gifts cost a lot of money to buy on a regular basis. It was a bit sad that she squirreled away so much to obsess over a guy that didn't like her back.

"Marinette!" a female voice called out excitedly, startling the young woman out of her musings.

Quickly, Tikki hid herself away as a slender woman with a purple pixie-cut strolled up to the table.

"Madame Rolling?" Marinette asked with a smile on her face gesturing for the agent to take a seat, "What are you doing here?"

"Please, call me Penny. Your parents said you were out shopping and Jagged was hoping to see you," Penny replied, chuckling at the way the girl's face lit up at the rock star's name. "We missed you at the concert."

A flash of Adrien rejecting her ran through her head. Marinette gave a slightly pained look, feel a bit bad about giving away the V.I.P. tickets that were given to her. "I'm sorry, Penny. I wasn't feeling like myself."

Understanding flitted across the other woman's face as she patted the younger girl's hand, "Boy trouble?"

Marinette gave a deep sigh and a wistful smile. "I asked the boy I liked to come with me to the concert, but he told me he likes someone else."

"Well, he doesn't know what he's missing out on," Penny comforted with a light reassuring squeeze, "I know you might not feel up to it, but Jagged and I wanted to ask for a favor even though it's not your job anymore."

The aspiring designer furrowed her brow cutely, "Of course. But what can I do?"

A chuckle slipped out from the purple haired woman. "Jagged loved your style so much, he wanted you to design the cover of his new album."

WHAT!

Marinette was thunderstruck. Jagged Stone, her all-time favourite singer, wanted her to make his album cover? She slapped herself lightly to see if she was dreaming.

"Your parents said they'd let you decide if you wanted to take the job," Penny explained to the visibly excited young woman, "Jagged can even play a few songs for you if you need the inspiration."

Her heart must have stopped, but when she finally processed the words she couldn't stop herself from squealing, "YES! YES YES!"

Penny treated the younger girl to a light lunch as they hammered out the details. Make it Jagged, keep it 100% Marinette, and, of course, have fun with it.

When they finally parted ways, the young designer raced home to drop off her bags and mocked up a quick concept on her tablet while she still had time.

Though, she couldn't help wiggling in her chair to help burn off some of her nervous energy. Even if it meant going back to the place where her heart was broken, she was too excited about getting a personal concert from Jagged Stone!

All too soon, the young woman was packing her tablet into her bag and hurtling down the streets. There was no way she'd let herself be late to a once in a lifetime opportunity.

But, right as she turned the corner outside Le Grand Paris, she felt herself slam into someone, sending them both crashing to the pavement.

"Oof!" the dark haired girl exclaimed, picking herself up quickly, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-."

Marinette's words trailed off as she realized who she had run into. A blonde haired boy lifted himself off the ground and faced her.

"Adrien…," she muttered softly, taking a step backwards. Her breathing suddenly became more rapid and shallow.

The boy who had broken her heart averted his eyes, looking uncomfortable. He opened his mouth to say something, but was immediately cut off.

"Adri-chou!" a speeding blonde bullet squealed wrapping herself around the beleaguered boy. "There you are! Super Chloé has a surprise for you. She knows you're a fan of Jagged Stone."

"Uh... um… yes I am," Adrien stammered, trying to extract himself from the girl's hug and glancing over at Marinette.

Chloé didn't acknowledge the poor boy's discomfort, latching onto his arm and continued talking, "He's staying at my Daddy's hotel. He would be more than happy to have a private show for us." She shot a superior look at Marinette while dragging Adrien into the hotel lobby, "Isn't Chloé _the best_?"

The dark haired girl hugged her bag a little closer, feeling the weight of seeing her ex-crush so soon. Her heart was still raw; and, seeing him was like pouring salt in the wound.

"Don't worry," Tikki squeaked softly, poking her head out. "It'll be fine. Jagged wanted to see _you_! Don't let them hurt you. You're amazing, Marinette!"

The unconditional support struck the dark haired girl. What had she done to deserve such a wonderful friend? Smiling down at her, she promised herself that she would make the little Kwami a batch of cookies.

Steeling her resolving, she stepped into the lobby.

She didn't regret her decision.

"What do you mean he won't see us?" Chloé screamed, stamping her foot petulantly.

Penny was already standing in front of her, rolling her eyes at the blonde haired brat. "Jagged is very busy and has a special appointment today so he won't be available."

"But this is my Daddy's hotel. He has to make time for important people like me."

The rock star's agent bit back a retort when she noticed Marinette, walking over to the younger woman, "Oh, Marinette! You're here early. Come on up, Jagged is just getting ready."

Giving a shy smile, the dark haired girl ignored her stunned classmates and followed Penny to the elevator.

"WHAT!? Why is she going up?" Chloé sputtered in rage.

As the doors closed, the purple haired woman replied matter of factly, "She had an appointment!"

The apoplectic scream that followed made Marinette burst into laugher, feeling the tension and pain from seeing Adrien fade away a bit.

"S-sorry. She's not very nice to me at school," the dark haired girl explained at Penny's questioning look.

A sympathetic gaze came from the older woman. "Brats like that are jealous and just want to drag you down," she advised giving a conspiratory wink to the younger girl, "Keep being you, and you'll figure out what really matters in the end."

They shared a smile as they walked into Jagged Stone's suite. A large amp was set up in the corner and a broken tablet laid discarded to the side. The musician and his pet crocodile were nowhere to be seen.

"Where could they be?" the purple haired woman frowned, "Make yourself at home Marinette. Maybe he went back downstairs..."

Marinette gave a small smile and plopped herself onto the couch next to a discarded jacket as she was left to her own devices. A couple instruments were haphazardly left in the corner of the living area. She could almost feel the rock star's presence, the smell of sweat and leather and raw power. Giggling a bit, the girl realized the smell was probably coming from the jacket.

Feeling a bit of inspiration, the aspiring designer whipped out her tablet and made a few edits to her concept. Jagged Stone. Rock Giant. Yeah, a giant standing on top of the world, shadowed in the night sky.

Standing up, the girl started to feel a bit amped up, imagining her favorite singer's music cranked up as high as it would go. Playfully, she started dancing around the room pretending her tablet was a guitar and the stylus was her pick.

Tikki flew out of her purse and began banging her head to a non-existent beat, "Hehe. Rock and roll, Marinette!"

Jumping around as the illusionary beat got louder, the dark haired girl could almost swear she heard the music in the distance.

Right as she finished one final solo, Marinette suddenly cried out, "WHOA!" as she slipped on a discarded CD.

"Marinette, are you okay?" Tikki squeaked in distress at her fallen charge.

"I'm fine Tikki,." she smiled gently, making a show of flexing her biceps. Glancing at the disc that had tripped her, she noticed it was XY's newest album. Adding a bit of Jagged into her voice, the girl declared, "A little CD from a wannabe baby isn't enough to bring down this rock star!"

The two burst out into laughter.

But the proverbial lightbulb went off in Marinette's head. The dark haired girl quickly grabbed her stylus, adding in a night sky filled with stars glittering in the distance and a giant sun right behind the supersized rocker.

"Ooh! Marinette, it's perfect!" Tikki exclaimed, flying up to the tablet.

Laughing, the aspiring designer replied, "It just needs one more thing. Something to really make it Jagged."

Standing up and walking back to the sitting area, the girl gazed around the room seeing if anything stood out. Giggling at the familiarity, she even whispered, "Lucky Charm."

And there it was. Still sitting in the exact spot, the leather jacket that kicked her creative juices into overdrive. Sweat and leather. Perfect!

Just as she started to gather up her stuff to go home and work on her idea, Marinette stopped herself.

"What happened to Penny?"

A glance at the time on her phone showed it was actually starting to get a bit late. She walked out toward the balcony and noted the darkening sky with the Eiffel Tower illuminated in the distance. Her eyes bugged out when she caught sight of something flying around the monument.

"IS THAT A DRAGON? Tikki! Transform me!" the part-time superhero exclaimed switching into her alter-ego.

Swinging in the night sky as Ladybug, the red and black spotted girl raced to the obvious akuma that was terrorizing the city, praying that Chat Noir was alright.

With a carefully timed throw, the superhero slingshotted herself at the dragon and wrapped the magic string around it's neck like a makeshift rein to take control of the mythical creature. Her aforementioned partner looked a bit worse for wear as he faced off against an akumatized man.

Just as Ladybug swooped her ride closer, a loud guitar solo slammed into Chat Noir and sent him hurtling over the edge of the Eiffel Tower.

Loosening her reins and applying a bit of pressure to the dragon's head with her foot, the spotted woman directed the beast to dive and catch the free-falling hero.

"Oh thank God! Bugaboo, you are seriously a sight for _soar_ eyes," her blonde haired companion quipped, eliciting a soft groan from her lips.

"Sorry, I was so late. I got a bit caught up rocking out on my own," she explained, getting an amused chuckle in return before she sent a questioning glance to her partner, "Is that Jagged Stone?"

Chat Noir nodded and pointed off to the side of the top level of the tower. A frightened man was tied up and standing at the edge of a plank, "Calls himself Guitar Villain and he's got XY ready to sing his swan song."

Making another pass, Ladybug dodged a few guitar blasts that fired at them and yelled, "Get ready to jump!"

Together, the superheroic duo abandoned ship and grabbed hold of the monument as the dragon ploughed into the structure. Quickly unraveling her yo-yo, Ladybug swung for one of the mounts while Chat Noir latched on to her. The momentum propelled the two heroes high into the air, right behind the brainwashed rock star.

The leather clad blonde drew the man's attention, dodging up and down along the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower, unable to get closer.

Furrowing her brow, she focused on the guitar belting out sound blasts at her beleaguered partner. "The akuma must be in his guitar. Lucky Charm!" the spotted girl cried, activating her special ability. A large wok fell into her confused hands.

"I'm not sure if this is really the right time to _wok and roll_ ," the masked boy quipped, as he continued to draw the fire in his death defying dance.

Ladybug's mind jumped into overdrive taking in their foe and surroundings. A sound blast bounced against the tower and reflected into the night sky. The spotted girl smirked and replied as she wrapped her yo-yo to the wok's handle, "Send him my way!"

With a salute, Chat Noir activated his Cataclysm on the observation deck, crumbling the platform all around the top of the tower. The blonde haired hero extended his baton through the tower to catch XY before he fell while the akumatized rock star was forced onto the supporting beams near his partner.

Guitar Villain fired a set of rapid fire attacks all around the red-suited woman to cut off her escape. But a loud clang sent the shots flying off and away.

Whipping the wok to and fro, the supergirl deflected the sound waves with the pan, sending them back toward their maker and destroying his guitar. With a well practiced swipe, the black butterfly that emerged was captured by her yo-yo.

"Bye bye, petit papillon," Ladybug smiled gently, releasing the purified akuma to the world.

With a final call of 'Miraculous Ladybug', the damage of the day was fixed and Paris was restored.

Dropping down to the newly fixed platform, the super duo fistbumped for another job well done. "Bien joué."

"Good work, Chaton. Next time I won't leave you hanging," the masked girl promised, feeling bad as she took in her partner's appearance.

The leather clad hero had a tired grin on his face, and his hair was coated with sticky sweat. He must have been fighting by himself for a long time.

"Don't trouble your pretty head, Bugaboo," Chat Noir replied with a lazy wave before a coy smirk appeared. "Though... you could make it up to me with a kiss."

Rolling her eyes, she was happy that at least some things never changed. It was even a little flattering. Leave it to her partner to make her feel desired without even realizing something was wrong. Even with exhaustion underneath that cheeky grin. It was so… _Chat Noir_.

Maybe he did deserve a little something...

The spotted hero patted his cheek and whispered coquettishly, "Sorry, minou. You'll have to buy me dinner first."

His stunned expression made her laugh gleefully, but a loud beep let her know the first of her spots was disappearing.

Before Chat Noir could recover, she was already leaping off the edge of the platform, intent on getting back to the hotel before anyone realized she was gone.

After all, maybe Marinette still had some time to add a few more finishing touches.

* * *

AN: Want to know something interesting? This was actually the first fic I wrote for this fandom. Had a really nice thing mapped out including this chapter mostly done before I started _Ripped_. Ended up liking that story so much I pushed this one to wayside, but I had a moment of inspiration while I was writing a One-Shot. :)


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